Mike Piazza Rumors
By Tim Dierkes [May 26, 2008 at 10:42am CST]
Before you fire up the grill, check out these links. Dayn Perry has an enjoyable series at Baseball Prospectus called Mock Blockbuster. He proposes trades that would benefit both teams. His latest: Greg Maddux and Brian Giles for Jordan Schafer. Rays Index wonders whether Eric Hinske or Gabe Gross could be expendable once Willy Aybar returns. Joe Capozzi remembers Mike Piazza's five game stint as a Marlin. Pokey Reese sighting! Ned Colletti told struggling free-agent-to-be Derek Lowe the Dodgers aren't slamming the door on him coming back. The Red Sox signed an Australian teen named Boss Moanaroa. Athletics Nation chats...
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By Tim Dierkes [May 20, 2008 at 3:06pm CST]
Catcher Mike Piazza has decided to retire. I thought he had a little bit left in the tank as a possible DH this year, but it seems that teams did not agree. Piazza finishes with a .308/.377/.545 career line in 19 seasons. He mashed 427 home runs and is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Dodgers or Mets cap? Marlins?
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By Cork Gaines [April 25, 2008 at 2:52pm CST]
So far during the 2008 regular season, 28 players have either been DFA'd or released. At the same point last year, that list only included 14 players. In the past four seasons, only 2006 (22) had more than 14 players DFA'd or released this early in the season. This will be an interesting trend to watch the rest of this season and into the early portion of 2009. It appears to be an indication that teams are showing less patience to work trades for fringe players or teams may be placing higher premiums on prospects, unwilling to move even mid-level...
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By Tim Dierkes [April 23, 2008 at 9:09am CST]
ESPN's Peter Gammons has a new blog post up. Peter Angelos might put the kibosh on any Brian Roberts trade. The Red Sox apparently wouldn't mind shipping Coco Crisp to the Cubs for Sean Gallagher and another prospect. The Sox might hope Crisp is the Cubs' backup plan to Roberts. Gammons says Tommy Lasorda suggested the Dodgers consider Mike Piazza as a backup catcher; they are not interested. It would've been fun to see Piazza finish his career in L.A. Another free agent, David Wells, "hasn't gotten a sniff from any team." It's only April 23rd, so desperation hasn't quite...
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By Tim Dierkes [April 16, 2008 at 8:52am CST]
WEDNESDAY: Hal McCoy ran this one by Dusty, who implied that he hasn't had any discussions about Piazza specifically. Meanwhile Fay says the Reds have "mild interest" in his latest article. TUESDAY: This morning, Mark Healey of Gotham Baseball wrote that Reds manager Dusty Baker expected his team to sign free agent catcher Mike Piazza. Reds beat writer John Fay checked in on the rumor, and it he didn't get a denial. Whether or not Piazza is the target, the Reds are looking for catching help and/or a right-handed bench bat. Piazza, 39, hit .275/.313/.414 in 83 games last year....
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By Tim Dierkes [April 15, 2008 at 10:20am CST]
Tax day roundup... Some mild drama over whether Curt Schilling would consider pitching for the Yankees next year. He reiterated that he won't. It takes two to tango, anyway. Pedro Martinez may be out until June. Nelson Figueroa's chance continues, with Claudio Vargas as the backup plan. The Mets still have a solid rotation without Pedro. Mark Healey has heard rumblings that the Reds and Yankees are looking at Mike Piazza. Phillies Nation on why they would trade Ryan Howard. Bill Barnwell looks at the four trades Randy Johnson trades. I thought the Unit looked respectable last night, though it's...
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By Cork Gaines [March 30, 2008 at 1:29pm CST]
Ken Rosenthal has his latest column up at FoxSports.com. As usual he is not shy about stirring up rumors. Let's take a look at what the rumor-guru has to say: Rosenthal notes that the Dodgers will go with Blake DeWitt at third base who has never played a game above AA. This comes after the Dodgers failed to acquire either the Astros' Mark Loretta, who was unavailable and the Royals' Esteban German, who was too expensive. The Royals were asking for the Dodgers' third best prospect, shortstop Chin-Lung Hu. He indicates that the Padres and the Rays are pursuing Matt...
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By Tim Dierkes [March 12, 2008 at 11:00am CST]
Time for today's linkage. RotoAuthority looks for some fantasy baseball sleepers at second base. Rocco Baldelli has a rare muscle condition that does not allow his body to recover after a short workout. He'll hit the DL but won't retire. The Rays will likely decline his option but maybe they'll re-sign him at a lower price. The Indians are in the running for 16 year-old shortstop Edward Salcedo, but the Boras client remains unsigned. IGN has their own What Might've Been type series, and recently they took a look at the Mike Piazza trades of 1998. Haven't heard much on...
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By Tim Dierkes [February 27, 2008 at 10:27pm CST]
Mark Hale of the New York Post recently spoke to Mike Piazza's agent, Dan Lozano. Piazza may retire if he doesn't find the right opportunity, but he is currently mulling two interested teams. Lozano indicated that there is one team from each league under consideration. Japan is not a possibility for Piazza. Piazza, 39, hit .275/.313/.414 in 329 plate appearances last year as Oakland's DH. He was limited by a shoulder strain and bruised triceps. Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA system has him at .255/.310/.426 in 294 PAs this year, a performance worth $675K. If Piazza gets a Major League deal, the...
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By Tim Dierkes [February 25, 2008 at 12:28pm CST]
12:28pm: Andrew Friedman denies it, calling the Bonds rumor a "non-story." They never even had a harmless internal conversation about Bonds, then? 11:27am: Japan is a legitimate possibility for Barry Bonds, but he may not have exhausted his MLB options just yet. Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times says the Rays have had internal discussions about signing Bonds (hat tip DRays Bay). At some point, one of the 30 teams is going to acknowledge that Bonds adds wins. Most fans have proven that they care more about wins than steroid use. Other considerations for the Rays include Mike Piazza...
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